How to Cast a BaZi Chart | Solar Terms & True Solar Time
If one pillar is wrong, the later Ten Gods and strength analysis will also be wrong. Use the examples to test your own Four Pillars.
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If one pillar is wrong, the later Ten Gods and strength analysis will also be wrong. Year and month follow the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, not lunar January or Gregorian January. For births affected by time zones or daylight saving time, first restore local standard time.
The Four Pillars are year, month, day, and hour, each with one stem and one branch.
- Year Pillar: ancestors, early life, broad environment
- Month Pillar: parents, career environment, seasonal strength
- Day Pillar: the day stem is the self
- Hour Pillar: children, later life
Use the Gregorian year, month, day, and time from hospital or official records, in 24-hour format. Convert a lunar date first. Sex determines whether major luck runs forward or backward.
Year Pillar: the year changes at Lichun
Do not use January 1 or Lunar New Year as the boundary.
- At or after the exact moment of Lichun: use that year's stem-branch
- Before Lichun: use the previous year
Lichun usually falls on February 3–5. Use the exact local time at the birthplace.
Month Pillar: solar terms set the branch, Five Tigers sets the stem
This is the most error-prone step. The month branch begins at a solar term and cannot be taken directly from the lunar month:
| Solar-term interval | Month branch |
|---|---|
| Lichun–Awakening of Insects | 寅 |
| Awakening of Insects–Pure Brightness | 卯 |
| Pure Brightness–Start of Summer | 辰 |
| Start of Summer–Grain in Ear | 巳 |
| Grain in Ear–Minor Heat | 午 |
| Minor Heat–Start of Autumn | 未 |
| Start of Autumn–White Dew | 申 |
| White Dew–Cold Dew | 酉 |
| Cold Dew–Start of Winter | 戌 |
| Start of Winter–Major Snow | 亥 |
| Major Snow–Minor Cold | 子 |
| Minor Cold–Lichun | 丑 |
The month stem follows the Five Tigers (五虎遁), starting the Yin month from the year stem: Jia or Ji year starts with Bing; Yi or Geng with Wu; Bing or Xin with Geng; Ding or Ren with Ren; Wu or Gui with Jia.
Thus Jia and Ji years begin with 丙寅; Yi and Geng with 戊寅; Bing and Xin with 庚寅; Ding and Ren with 壬寅; Wu and Gui with 甲寅. Continue in sequence.
Day Pillar
The day follows the sixty Jiazi cycle. Modern software can calculate it. The day stem is the core of the entire chart.
Hour Pillar
| Double-hour | Clock time |
|---|---|
| 子 | 23:00–01:00 |
| 丑 | 01:00–03:00 |
| 寅 | 03:00–05:00 |
| 卯 | 05:00–07:00 |
| 辰 | 07:00–09:00 |
| 巳 | 09:00–11:00 |
| 午 | 11:00–13:00 |
| 未 | 13:00–15:00 |
| 申 | 15:00–17:00 |
| 酉 | 17:00–19:00 |
| 戌 | 19:00–21:00 |
| 亥 | 21:00–23:00 |
The Zi hour crosses midnight: 23:00 to midnight is late Zi, and midnight to 01:00 is early Zi. Near the boundary, both the Day and Hour Pillars may differ, so check the birth record. The hour stem is derived from the day stem; software can calculate it.
Time zones, daylight saving time, and True Solar Time
For a place using daylight saving time, first restore standard time. A difference of only a few minutes near a double-hour boundary can change the pillar.
Ancient readers used sundials and therefore True Solar Time; clocks use mean solar time. The farther the birthplace longitude is from the time zone's central meridian, the larger the difference. Near a boundary, or for detailed analysis, convert to True Solar Time before setting the Hour Pillar. Use the True Solar Time converter.
Next: Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Charting: Ming Ming Guan Zhi BaZi.
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